India 92-2 at lunch (Jaiswal 42*, Rahul 42) v England
Ben Stokes’ decision to bowl first in the opening Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy looked questionable for most of the morning, but a pair of wickets just before the interval has made the scorecard feel a little more even.
Yashasvi Jaiswal, on his first Test tour of England, walked in with the same free-flowing intent he’d shown when these sides met last winter. The left-hander collected boundaries square and through extra cover, rarely bothered by the Dukes ball moving away. KL Rahul matched him shot for shot and, between them, the openers rattled up 91 in a tick over 24 overs. Sixteen of those fours came through the off side, and for a while England’s slip cordon was purely ornamental.
“It was one of those mornings where you’re searching for just a hint of lateral movement,” Chris Woakes admitted to the BBC during the break. “We actually felt in the game, but the scoreboard probably didn’t say so for a while.”
Brydon Carse, sharing a new ball at home for the first time, offered the only moment of discomfort for Jaiswal when a sharp one thudded into the ribs. Otherwise the young Indian looked in control, his previous haul of 712 runs in the winter series clearly still fresh in the memory. England, feeling the pressure, burned a review almost in hope: Josh Tongue’s inswinger to Jaiswal had pitched a long way outside leg, technology confirming what umpire Nitin Menon already knew.
Relief finally came six minutes before lunch. Carse went full and a touch wider, Rahul chased and nicked, Joe Root pouching neatly at first slip. Four balls later debutant Sai Sudharsan glanced Stokes down the leg side; Jamie Smith, also on debut, tumbled to his right and held on. Two wickets in six deliveries, the session’s tone altered.
“It’s handy to nip a couple out there,” Stokes told Sky. “The pitch looks good, so every chance you get, you have to take.”
Jaiswal, unbeaten on 42, has Shubman Gill for company this afternoon. India still have runs on the board and stroke-players in the shed, but England have something tangible to show for a hard graft under grey Leeds skies. It feels, for the moment, evenly poised—exactly what you’d want from the first morning of a five-Test summer.
